I'm a Duck

Candlewick Press

PRESCHOOL-Grade 2

Sometimes it takes a lot to get your webbed feet wet! An adorable picture book makes a splash with a satisfying story about conquering your fears.

Bunting’s singsong rhymes don’t skip a beat as the duck’s trepidation turns into triumph. Hillenbrand is just as successful at capturing the duck’s growing confidence...It’s an endearing allegorical tale whose messages about practice and taking things at one’s own speed will buoy the spirits of children facing new challenges.—Publishers Weekly

Each picture, regardless of the time of day, creates a sense of calm even in the noisier moments. Each choice by Will Hillenbrand, the color palette, the elements in each image, his use of materials and his lines and details contributes to enhancing the words of Eve Bunting.

Told with a storyteller’s flair, the unpretentious but precisely worded tale flows along steadily, easy to read aloud and pleasing in its expression of feelings familiar to young children. The delicate mixed-media illustrations, created with muted colors and understated patterns, perfectly capture the duckling’s fear, tentative attempts to overcome it, and final triumph. A beguiling picture book.—Booklist

Bunting’s singsong rhymes don’t skip a beat as the duck’s trepidation turns into triumph. Hillenbrand is just as successful at capturing the duck’s growing confidence...It’s an endearing allegorical tale whose messages about practice and taking things at one’s own speed will buoy the spirits of children facing new challenges.—Publishers Weekly

Told with a storyteller’s flair, the unpretentious but precisely worded tale flows along steadily, easy to read aloud and pleasing in its expression of feelings familiar to young children. The delicate mixed-media illustrations, created with muted colors and understated patterns, perfectly capture the duckling’s fear, tentative attempts to overcome it, and final triumph. A beguiling picture book.—Booklist